6 comments/ 41710 views/ 13 favorites Flight Emergency By: Cromagnonman It was going to be an easy day today, only two sectors, 'Red-eye' from Sydney to Adelaide and the last flight of the day back home to Sydney. This was one of the few times that the aircrew and cabin crew flew the same sectors more than once in a day. We had arrived this morning for one day, and were scheduled out on the last flight to leave before the curfew came into force. Julie Paterson, the Cabin Service Manager (CSM) was newly promoted and a little unsure of herself but had handled the crew duties well on the inbound leg. I made a point of complementing her on the smooth way that her crew went about their duties before we left the plane for the hotel and our layover. "What are your plans for today?" "I thought that I'd do a little shopping and maybe take in a movie or something, I really just want to relax." "Why don't we meet for lunch somewhere and we can take in the movie together, if that's okay?" "I'd like that, I won't be long with my shopping, I just want to get a birthday present for my father. Where do you want to meet?" I suggested that we meet in the shopping mall and decide where we would eat then. I suggested a hotel lunch but, because of company policy, we were unable to have any alcohol to drink which, to me was fine because I seldom drank. After lunch we walked the short distance to the cinema where I was somewhat disappointed to find no film showing that I was desperate to watch, but, in deference to my companion I agreed to sit through a 'chick flick' which to my surprise, I actually enjoyed. What I enjoyed even more was Julie's company. The seats in which we sat were those that you could fold up the armrest between seats to form a double width seat. Julie folded it up and during the film rested her hand on my thigh. Several times during the film her hand tightened on my thigh and my cock raised its head with interest. That was as far as we got during the film but as we walked back to the hotel she had no objection to my holding her hand as we walked. We stopped out front of several shops to look at the window displays and I was pleasantly surprised that she was interested in much the same things as I was, and I was interested in the things she was. We made a small detour to the ABC Shop where I asked about a Telemovie that I had seen several years ago, based on the character 'Dangerous Davies' by Leslie Thomas. There was a more recent series that was more loosely based on the same character but I was interested in the older version. I was disappointed when I was told that this was not listed. When we got back to the hotel we met a couple of the other crew and had coffee with them in the coffee lounge in the foyer I noticed that the other crew appeared intrigued that we were together and there were questions as to whether this was happenstance or circumstance. Tim, the First Officer and I had to take the earlier transport to the airport for two reasons, the first being that our pre-flight check took longer than the cabin crew's and the other was that company policy was that outbound flight crews were not to travel on the same transport as the cabin crew in case of accident. I left the FO in the cockpit to begin the pre-flight checks while I did the walk around to check the exterior of the plane. It looked fine, the ground engineer was still plugged into it and walked around with his earphones on doing his checks. I climbed the stairs and walked into the cockpit, "How is she?" I asked Tim. "Looking good, the Met report is for a smooth flight, no turbulence, clear all the way in." Even though the cockpit door was locked for security reasons we could hear the noise of the passengers boarding, which was good, it meant that we should, failing a non-boarding passenger that would result in the unloading of baggage, get away on time. The ground crew gave us the 'all clear', which meant that all checked in passengers were on board and we got our clearance to push back from the terminal and taxi out to the runway. The cabin crew went through the safety drill and prepared the passengers for takeoff. As we lined up in the queue waiting our turn to takeoff I clicked the intercom button. "Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking, welcome aboard flight 789 to Sydney. My name is Mitchell Underwood and your First Officer is Tim Henderson, we have just spoken to the Met Bureau and we have clear skies all the way, we do not expect to encounter any turbulence and can expect a smooth flight. We have a slight tailwind and, unless we were placed in a holding pattern, we will arrive at our destination on time. The temperature in Sydney is currently 20 degrees but will probably be a couple of degrees cooler by the time we get there. No smoking is allowed on this flight and this includes the toilets. Please observe the seat belt warning lights. On behalf of the crew and myself I trust that you have an enjoyable flight." The takeoff couldn't have been easier, we climbed smoothly to our operational ceiling and Tim and I engaged the auto pilot and got ready to relax until it was time to descend. I looked out of the cockpit window and could make out the lights of small towns that we flew over en route. This was to be a milk run and I was looking forward to getting into my new sports car for the drive home through the hills. We were about a third of the way into the flight when the intercom crackled into life, it was Julie, "Captain we have a problem, one of the passengers has collapsed, and we suspect a heart attack. We have commenced CPR but he's still not breathing properly." "Okay, get the refreshment cart stowed away, let me know as soon as that happens, keep the CPR going, we're turning back." I flicked the intercom switch, "This is the captain speaking, we have a medical emergency on board and we are turning back to Adelaide. I would appreciate it if you remain seated and allow the crew to carry on with their work, they are all trained in first aid and, unless there is someone among you who has medical training that would benefit this situation please do not interfere." I contacted air traffic control, "This flight 789 on route to Sydney, we have a medical emergency and have turned around. I would request priority landing clearance, and a Cardiac Retrieval Unit standing by at the security gate. When we land I will taxi to the apron adjacent to that gate, if we could have a passenger lift on stand-by to take the passenger off, we will offload him before taxiing back to the terminal. Our ETA is thirty minutes, please confirm." I was given the appropriate clearances and contacted flight operations to advise them of the situation and arrange transport to take those passengers who needed to, to a hotel as we would not be able to, because of the curfew, take off again tonight. The landing was smooth and I could see the flashing red and blue lights of the waiting ambulance at the security gate, beside it stood the scissor lift so that the paramedics could lower the stretcher safely to the ground. As I manoeuvred down the taxiway I could make out a ground controller waving his two illuminated batons to guide me to our parking position. I stopped and the wheels were chocked while the evacuation procedures were carried out. The operation to evacuate the passenger and his wife went quickly and smoothly. A tug was hitched and dragged our plane to our bay at the terminal and the passengers disembarked. For the first time that I could remember there were no complaints from the other passengers about having to turn back or having to stay overnight. Before we left the plane I caught up to Julie, "How does it look?" "He had resumed breathing unaided and his condition had stabilised by the time we got him off so I'm pretty confident he'll be fine." "That's great! I wanted to congratulate you and your crew for the fine way you handled the emergency, it's not the kind of thing you want to happen on your first day as CSM." It took some time to shut the plane down, the ground crew had already cleared the galley and begun cleaning the cabin by the time we walked down the tube to the terminal. Operations called me as we were walking through the terminal to our transport with an update on the passenger's condition. He was in a stable condition in hospital and they were confident that he would make a full recovery. They also passed on the thanks of the passenger's wife, who had spoken to them to compliment the crew on their outstanding handling of the situation. "Julie," I said as we boarded the crew bus, "Do you think I can have a word with your crew?" "Yes, certainly." "Guys, I have just heard from operations and they are full of praise for the great job you did tonight. We are staying overnight and we are all dead-heading back to home base tomorrow morning leaving the hotel at 10.00. So, when we get back to the hotel we're going to celebrate, the first round is on me." We all gathered in the bar at the hotel, I sat next to Julie, "Don't expect this sort of excitement every flight, for the most part it is routine, but you handled yourself really well back there." "I didn't even have time to think about what to do, he went down and we just did it. The crew deserves as much credit as me." "What are you doing tonight?" "What do you have in mind?" "I enjoyed myself this afternoon and thought we might carry on, if you have no objections." "That would be great. How do we ditch this lot?" "I think they'll probably kick on somewhere else, we can slip off on our own." "I'm going up to my room to get out of my uniform." "Do you mind if I come up with you?" "Not at all, in fact I was just about to suggest it." We kissed in the elevator on the way to her floor, we kissed in her room before she changed, we kissed again before we left her room to go to mine and I complemented her on her appearance, she had on a skirt that didn't quite reach her knees and a simple blouse that was open far enough for me to get a good look at her cleavage. Before I had a chance to change we kissed again, this time with a passion than took my breath away. "Whoa there! I hope you don't think that I do this all the time." "I know you don't. The girls were talking about you and Tim on the way over this morning and the general consensus was that, while we would have to watch out for Tim, you were pretty safe. Actually I've been hearing a lot about you. You know how us girls talk, well for the last couple of years I've been hearing nothing but good things about you. We compare notes on pilots in much the same way that I'm sure the pilots compare notes about cabin crew, you know the sort of thing, which of the girls are 'easy' and which aren't, which are happily married and which, with a little work will put out, that sort of thing. I gather you had a messy divorce and have been wary of getting involved since. You have resisted temptation every time someone has tried it." "You heard right, but for some reason when I first saw you with the crew I just knew that I was going to let my guard down. There is something about you that I find attractive. And yes you have a reputation among the pilots for not being interested in any kind of relationship, I think the name 'Ice Queen' has been used to describe you, and I respect you for whatever decision you have made. Having said that I don't want to start something that has no future, so if you are interested in a one night stand only, which I'm sure you're not, tell me now and that will be the end of it." "If I was only interested in a one night stand I wouldn't be here. I have never had one of those and have no intention of having one now. I know some pilots seem to think we cabin crew are their private harem but I want no part of that scene." "That's great! Now having got that out of the way, where were we?" "I was in your arms kissing you, then you were going to take your clothes off, I was going to take my clothes off and we were going to get into bed and cement this promising relationship." I kissed her, I got undressed, she got undressed, we got into bed and the cementing began. I kissed her breasts and stroked her pussy while she grabbed my cock in her hand and began to masturbate me. I stopped kissing her breasts and began kissing her pussy, paying particular attention to her clit. Her mouth engulfed my cock and she sucked it, caressing it with her tongue. I have never felt this good, this turned on by a woman, ever. Sure sex was great with my ex for a while but it seemed to have a mechanical quality to it, there was no spontaneity about it, not like with Julie. We knew instinctively when to change position and what to do to heighten the experience for each other. I found myself deep inside her, physically and mentally, the closeness had taken on an almost spiritual significance and I felt that my orgasm, when it came, would be the most intense experience I have ever felt. I was pushing into her slowly, pausing several times during each stroke to prolong the moment, she was moaning softly to herself and her hips were responding to the pleasure, her arms were around my neck and she was squashing her breasts against the hair of my chest. Her breathing gained momentum until, with a sob she jerked forward onto my cock and came in a shattering explosion of orgasmic delight. "Oh fuck that was the most, oh fuck here I go again, will you hurry up, I want all of you inside me, I want you to cum inside me, please, oh please, fucking cum." What could I do but obey, with a final lunge I buried my cock as far inside her as I could and unleashed a torrent of warm sticky man juice into her waiting cunt. "Wow! I have never felt this good. I have never felt as if I was meant to be with any other person like I feel now." She would not let go of me, hugging me while she slowly came down from her orgasmic high. "My God, do you know what you have just done to me? Here I had made a promise to myself never to get involved with a pilot because of the weird hours that we work and the likelihood that the relationship would end in disaster, but do you know what? I don't give a shit about the repercussions of this, I know that what we have found will last, whatever problems our lives will throw at is we can work it out, and do you know why I know that? Because this was meant to be, and when something is meant to be it will be. We are and that is all that matters." "You don't know how much I agree with you. I have been scared of getting involved for the last three years but the very instant I set eyes on you my fear disappeared." She was laying half on top of me idly playing with my cock when he started to stiffen again. Straddling me she guided him into her still moist pussy and began to move slowly back and forth on him. He responded by becoming rock hard and I could feel her over every inch of him, what she was doing to me was guaranteed to get me to cum very quickly, but I wasn't as quick as she was, "Oh God here I go again." Her movements sped up until she was pummelling me, her clit grinding away against me as she drove down on him. My back arched and I came into her, shooting spurt after spurt of my cum into her body. Again it took her much longer to come down from her orgasm and when she did she whispered into my ear, "Much as I love you and having you inside me, I think we'd better get some sleep or we'll never make our flight in the morning." That's my Julie, ever practical. We lay in each other's arms and drifted off into the deepest, most relaxing and satisfying sleep that I have ever experienced. When you are used to early morning wake up calls your body clock remains on auto-pilot, it assumes that you actually want to wake up early every morning. "Mmmmm," Julie's drowsy voice was where it was when we drifted off to sleep last night, "good morning you good thing." I didn't know whether she was talking to me or to my cock that she was stroking awake. "And a good morning to you." I leaned over and kissed her awake. We had two showers before breakfast, the first we thought was enough until our passion got the better of us and we made love again. The second was to wash the result of that lovemaking from our bodies before going down to breakfast with the rest of the crew. We arrived at breakfast to find the rest of the crew there looking somewhat worse for wear. "Where did you two get to last night?" One of the cabin attendants asked. "Oh no, you didn't? You don't need to answer that, it's written all over you. Julie how could you? I hope you know what you're doing, after all you did tell us that you weren't about to get involved with a pilot." "I know exactly what I'm doing and this man is a man first and a pilot second, and he's mine." She hugged me and kissed me hard on the lips, leaving them in no doubt that she had changed her mind. "What the hell are you doing?" Tim asked as we sat in the crew transport on our way back to the airport. "What the hell are you doing?" Julie was asked several times between the hotel and the airport. "I have met someone who I have very strong feelings for and with whom I want to develop a relationship." We both told our inquisitors. "Third degree?" I asked Julie as we walked side by side through the terminal building ready to board our plane. "You better believe it. I guess that when we act against type people will ask questions, and we are both acting against type. If you want to change your mind now would be a good time." "Never think that I'll change my mind when it comes to you, never." I grasped her hand to emphasise my commitment. "When is your next scheduled duty?" "Half an hour ago, I was supposed to do the Sydney, Melbourne and return this morning. Why?" "I have the weekend free, would you like to do something?" "What exactly did you have in mind?" "I want to get to know the real you. I know that we are sexually compatible and that we like the same things, but I would like to really get to know you as a person." "Sounds good to me, how do you want to go about this?" "I could take you home so that you can change and then to my place for me to change and then take it from there. Or you could go home and change while I do the same and then we can meet up somewhere later." "I like the sound of the first one." "Good. I have my car parked in the staff car park. We can catch the crew bus." "I'm impressed." Julie said as we approached my car. The silver Morgan Plus 8 sat in all its 1970's glory, that defied it's 2006 build date. It was one of the last Plus 8's to leave the factory, but it looked as if it had been around for ages, which was part of its charm. I tossed my flight bag into the space behind the seat along with Julie's and we climbed in. "Where to?" I asked as we left the car park. "West Auckland." I looked quizzically at her before it dawned on me that she was referring to Bondi Junction which seemed to have been taken over by New Zealanders. I pulled up outside a block of apartments in a side street just behind the shops on the main road. It must have looked impressive when it was built some forty years ago, but had taken on a care worn look. Julie and I walked up to the entrance and she retrieved her mail from the box beside the front door, flicked through them sorting the junk mail from the real stuff and chucking the former into a waste bin that had been thoughtfully placed nearby for that very purpose. Her apartment was not small, neither was it spacious, two adequate bedrooms and a combined living/dining room with a galley kitchen and bathroom. There was a communal laundry in the basement and residents could either use the small drying area in the courtyard or the dryers at a Laundromat just down the road. Julie disappeared into her bedroom to emerge a couple of minutes later dressed in jeans and sweat top. She was wearing a sports bra that emphasised her breasts and caused my cock to go into standby mode. She came into my arms, "I see he's made up his mind what he wants to do." Her hand stroked him through my trousers. Flight Emergency Ch. 02 This is for those people who requested a further chapter in this story. It is also by way of closure. The story so far: I, Captain Mitchell Underwood and CSM Julie Paterson meet on a flight from Sydney to Adelaide. An unscheduled stop-over following an in-flight emergency that forced me to turn back to Adelaide resulted in us spending the night together. On our return to Sydney, we spend our first week-end together with Micha, my 8 year old daughter from my previous marriage. Melissa, my first wife is found badly bashed when we return Micha home. Julie and I apply for, and gain custody. We both resign from work, get married and, with Micha, settle down to life on my farm near Moss Vale, in the Southern Highlands, a couple of hours drive south of Sydney. * It had been an idyllic several months, Julie was now eight months pregnant and, efficient as ever had arranged everything in preparation for the birth. She had chosen to have the baby at home, and had arranged for a mid-wife to be present at the delivery. We knew it was going to be a boy but had told no-one, not even Micha. All of her checks had indicated that it would be an easy delivery but she had taken no chances. Just inside the front door was a case, packed with the essentials, just in case a dash to the hospital was necessary. Despite her burgeoning belly, Julie and I still maintained an active sex life, the only difficulty was in finding a position that allowed both of us to benefit from the experience. Our favourite was on our side, Julie with her back to me and her legs as far up as she could manage allowing me access to her pussy. While she would have preferred a position where she faced me, the only one that was halfway satisfactory was again on our sides, this time facing with her legs raised as high as possible again, it allowed me access but we were still not in a position where we could cuddle and hug each other. I suggested that she could straddle me but she wouldn't have this, because she thought that she was much too heavy for me. I tried to tell her that this was a load of crap, but she insisted. We did however gain some experience in oral sex. We lay in our bed, Julie had her arms as far around me as was possible and my 'in utero' son was kicking the crap out of me. "I think he's going to be a footballer." "A Rugby player don't you mean. We can't have him playing one of those woosy codes can we?" "We'll see. I just hope that he's like you." "You mean that he'll be devilishly handsome, talented in many areas, and of course, rich." "I suppose that you think that you're all of those?" "Of course." My hand was one of my talented areas, it was caressing her breasts that were already engorged in preparation for the birth. Her nipples larger than normal and harder than normal. "If you keep that up I can't be held responsible for my actions." I kept it up. Her hand found my erect cock and began to fondle him. "You do realise that this is all that you'll get for a couple of weeks after the birth, don't you?" "I can wait, after all I did have a couple of years of self imposed celibacy." "Don't I know it, I was there when you broke your drought, talk about a flood, I was swimming in it." My other hand had found its way between her legs and my finger had entered her pussy. Julie needed no further encouragement, hoisting her knees as high as she could, she presented her pussy to my waiting cock. I had my hands resting gently on her bloated belly as I slid my cock equally gently into her waiting body. My cock slid as gently as possible into her waiting pussy. She urged me to make a greater effort but I had to think of the child inside her belly, so I resisted the temptation to increase my tempo. Her orgasm, when it came, made these precautions totally superfluous, if they didn't bring on contractions nothing would. Meanwhile Micha had settled easily into her new school and had made several friends and there was an active junior social network of weekend visits to each other's houses. Poor Fred often found a succession of little girls hoisted onto his back during a long, for him but short for the girls, day of horse riding, giggling and screaming, eating and drinking little kids food, and general good natured mayhem. I drove her to school each day, and even in the middle of winter with the paddocks frosted white, she insisted we take the Morgan, and unless it was actually bucketing down with rain, the top had to be down. There was a certain unselfconscious prestige about rolling up to school in this car, even if we were so rugged up against the cold that we were hardly recognisable. I had several projects on the go to help with the running of the farm. I had graded and gravel sealed a runway so that I could fly in and out of the property in my new second-hand plane. This served two purposes, I could keep my hand in with flying and Pete, my neighbour, and I could fly to country sales when we needed to buy stock for our farms. The only down-side to life thus far occurred six months after we moved down here. My first wife, Melissa, had applied for custody on the basis that I was not Micha's biological father and, failing a successful decision, increased access. After a day where emotions ran high and lawyers profited, hers in particular, the Family Court Judge refused to alter the current arrangements. Melissa was not happy and showed her displeasure with a loud and erratic outburst inside the courtroom. Julie was quiet on the drive back home. I reached over and placed my hand on her thigh, and she covered it with hers. "I'm sorry that you had to go through all of this, I'm only glad that Micha didn't have to be there to see her mother's behaviour. If there had been a way that we could have handled this without you being there I would have taken it." "I know Darling, but I needed to be there with you. I don't think that I could have coped with the idea of you being in that court on your own and me being at home wondering what was happening, but that doesn't make it any easier. Melissa has shown herself to be a vindictive person who is capable of anything and that's what scares me." That was two months ago, and Julie's worst fears had just been realised. I had just pulled into the parking area in the school grounds to pick up Micha, only to be met by a frantic teacher. "Mister Underwood, I'm so glad you're here, Micha has been abducted! The police are on their way and should be here soon." In the background I could hear sirens fast approaching. Two patrol cars sped into the grounds and screeched to a halt beside us. "What's happened?" I recognised Sergeant Barry Jackson from one of the many local barbeques, he was a large man, tending to over-weight but looked fit nonetheless. "Mitch, what's happened?" "It seems as if Micha was abducted. I haven't got the full story but a woman, and the description fits my ex-wife, jumped from a car and grabbed her and they were driven off. It happened about ten minutes ago, so they can't have gotten far. There's a good chance that they are heading for Sydney. I have a description of the car, so, if you can spare a man to act as spotter, I'll go home and get my plane and we can follow the road and see if we can locate them." "Good idea. Jimmy," He called over one of the Constables, "You go with Mitch here, grab a radio and a pair of binoculars from the car, and you are going to find a car." He looked at me, "There are no speed traps between here and your place, if you know what I mean." I knew exactly what he meant and Jimmy sat in the passenger's seat white knuckling the 'Oh my Jeeesus' handle as we sped back to the farm. Julie was waiting at the front door as I screeched to a halt. "What's happened?" "Micha's been abducted. I have to find her! Jan is on her way over to stay with you." I gave her an 'everything will be alright' hug and a huge kiss before racing over to the hangar that I had built to house the plane, cursing myself that I would have to drag it out before I could take off. The pre-flight checks were essential but quick, and within five minutes we were airborne and heading for the main highway. Jimmy was little more relaxed now that we weren't going sideways around corners on gravel roads. He had his binoculars trained on the cars heading towards Sydney, nothing that resembled the description of the car in sight yet. The radio crackled into life. "Mitch, this is Barry, we have just had a report from a crop sprayer telling us that he spotted a light plane taking off from a paddock, he said it was about a kilometre West of the Hume Highway and a few kilometres South of Mittagong, and it's heading for Sydney, and that there's a car parked there that matches the one used in the abduction. He's keeping low, well below the minimum ceiling. We have alerted Sydney Air Traffic Control to keep a watch for it on their radar, as well as Bankstown." He gave me the serial number of the plane. "I know that plane, it belongs to another former pilot, and I think I know where he's heading. He has a small strip in a paddock near Penrith that he uses for joy flights into the Blue Mountains. I'll head in that general direction." I told him where the strip was and he set about alerting the local police. I turned to a North-West heading and opened her up. A few minutes later Jimmy tapped my arm and pointed ahead and to the port. I saw the plane, still flying low and heading directly for the strip. We stayed back and high so that he wouldn't spot us, there was nothing that we could do from up here other than wait. "I want my Daddy! I want my Daddy and Julie!" The screams were loud and persistent, and obviously getting under Melissa's skin. "Will you shut the fuck up you snivelling little bitch! You are my daughter, you are not the daughter of that fucking slag that your so called father married!" She pointed to the pilot of the plane, the former Captain Roger Wellington, "This is Roger, he is your real father, and you'd better get used to it." "He's not my father! Daddy is my real father and Julie is my new Mummy. I love them, I love Daddy and I love Julie and I'm going to love my new brother or sister. I want to go home! Take me home! Take me home! Take me home to Daddy!" Micha screamed at her mother. "How much further?" Melissa screamed at Roger. "I don't know how much more of this I can stand." "Another five minutes, it's just the other side of that ridge ahead." He tried to sound as calm as possible, but running through his mind was 'how did I ever let her talk me into this and how can I get myself out of it?' "I have a car parked there that no-one knows about, once we land we can drive to anywhere you want, okay?" "Yeah fine, just get us there." The plane topped the rise. "Oh fuck!" "What's wrong now?" "Fucking Mitchell must have remembered this strip. There's a police car there waiting for us, we can't land." "What can we do? We can't stay up here forever?" Melissa was getting panicky. "There's another strip about ten minutes away, actually it's not much more than a paddock but I've landed there before, we should be able to make it." "What do you mean, should be able to make it?" "Well, we've used a little more fuel than I had intended running low and fast, and I didn't have full tanks to start with. We only have enough fuel for twenty-five minutes flying." Melissa wasn't totally convinced. In the back of the plane Micha was curled up in the foetal position on the floor between the seats. She reasoned that if Melissa lashed out at her she wouldn't be hurt as much. She had stopped screaming, in her own mind she knew that somehow her father would save her, she longed to feel his strong but gentle arms about her. Melissa was beyond lashing out at Micha, her attention was directed towards getting back on the ground and finding some safe refuge. She looked ahead and soon a cleared paddock loomed up ahead of them. Roger prepared to land. "Mitchell, can you hear me, over." There was something about the official tone of the message that placed Mitchell on immediate alert. "What is it Barry?" "Mitchell, I don't want you to worry, but it's Julie. I just had a call from Jan, she's gone into premature labour. The Midwife's there and has advised that, as a precaution she should go to hospital. It just so happens that we have a PolAir chopper hanging around doing not a lot so we've sent it to pick her up and transport her Wollongong hospital. It should get her there in ten minutes, that will save about forty-five minutes on the trip and the Neo-Natal Retrieval Unit is standing by. We'll keep you up to speed on developments." "Thanks Barry. In the mean time Roger spotted the police car waiting at his strip so he didn't land there. I'm still following him. I don't think that he's seen me. I'll keep you informed of developments." Five minutes later he saw the other plane begin to descend. "It looks like he's going to land." Jimmy got on the radio. "Sergeant, it's Jimmy here, it looks as if the other plane is going to land." "Okay, tell me where you are and we'll get the chopper over there as soon as it's clear of the hospital." Jimmy read their heading from the compass and how long since they the strip Roger used and their airspeed off the dial on the control panel. "No Roger, no!" Mitchell yelled out. "What's wrong?" Jimmy asked. "He's going to try and put down in that paddock ahead but the ground is much too soft. See those tyre marks on the grass where the local hoons have been doing donuts, it's really soft, and one of them even got bogged. He must be low on fuel if he has to land there." Roger had lowered the undercarriage and was preparing to land. He had seen the car tyre tracks in the grass and was tossing up whether to try a normal landing or go for a belly landing. He, for economic reasons, opted for a wheels down landing, figuring that if the ground was firm enough he wouldn't have the expense of repairing the damage caused by a belly landing. "Hold on, we're going to land." Years of training and experience kicked in and Roger swooped down and levelled out just above the ground. Slowing the plane to just above stall speed, he kept the nose up and gently allowed it to settle onto the ground. So far, so good. He let the plane roll along the ground without touching the brakes, slowly the nose wheel touched the ground. So far so good. Then, the moment he had been dreading arrived with a rush. As soon as the weight was put on the nose wheel it dug into the soft soil. The nose went down and dug in, the plane flipped onto its back and slid to a stop. "Mayday, mayday, mayday, this is Victor Hotel niner, niner, four, seven a plane has crash landed in a paddock, it's just East of the Nepean and about halfway between Penrith and Richmond. I am circling now, I cannot land because the ground is much too soft. I will circle the site, I have enough fuel to remain here for thirty minutes before I will be forced to return to base, unless I can somehow get clearance to land and refuel at Richmond RAAF base. I have to report that, while the fuselage is badly deformed, there is no sign of fire at present. There is also no sign of life. Over." "Victor Hotel niner, niner, four, seven this is Sydney tower. I have reported your position. A rescue chopper is on its way from Sydney it should reach you in twenty to twenty-five minutes. Please hold station for its arrival. By the way congratulations, we have a phone message from Wollongong Hospital, you have a son, mother and child both well. Over" "Roger first, thanks second. Out." "Victor Hotel, niner, niner, four, seven, this is RAAF Richmond, we have scrambled a chopper to you, ETA five minutes. Permission is granted for you to land at RAAF Richmond for refuelling. Hold station for arrival of chopper. Do you copy?" "Roger, over and out." There was nothing left but to circle and hope. Hope that somehow Micha has survived the crash. As Mitchell circled the paddock Jimmy stared non-stop through his binoculars, looking, hoping for some sign of life. "Mitch! Look! I don't believe it." His finger pointed towards the plane. Micha was conscious. It took a while for her to realise that she was lying on the roof of the plane. She saw that the window beside her had shattered and, apart from a few shards of plastic, she could crawl through it. She had several cuts around her face but there didn't appear to be much blood, and her arm felt sore when she moved it or put any weight on it, but one thing that she remembered from discussions she had listened to between her father and his pilot friends was, the best place to be when your plane crashes, was nowhere near it. It was a struggle but adrenaline kicked in and she overcame the pain of movement, and she managed to squeeze her tiny body through the window. She looked into the front of the plane and her mother's head was twisted at a strange angle, while the man she knew as Roger had blood all over his head from a gash in his neck. Micha stood, unsteadily, while she got her bearings, and then staggered as far away from the wreckage as she could before collapsing. "Good girl!" Mitchell shouted so hard that Jimmy was almost deafened. "This is Victor Hotel niner, niner, four, seven. We have one confirmed survivor. Can you relay a message to Sergeant Barry Jackson at Moss Vale. Tell him that Micha is alive and ask him to relay that message to my wife in hospital. Over." "Victor Hotel niner, niner, four, seven, this is Sydney tower, will oblige, will also speak to the hospital. By the way, one of your former workmates heard the radio traffic while he was on a holding pattern and recognised your call sign, the word has spread and they send their regards, and best wishes to you and Julie and your son. The chopper only just made it and mother and child are both well. We have been asked to pass on their congratulations and they want to know when the celebrations are going to be, over." "Sydney tower, this is Victor Hotel niner, niner, four, seven. That's good news about Julie. Tell that bunch of freeloaders that the invitations will be in the post as soon as, but if they think that we're going to supply booze for that lot of lushes they've got another think coming, strictly BYO. RAAF chopper sighted, over and out." As Mitchell circled he saw Micha look up to the sky. As soon as she caught sight of his plane she began to wave. Micha heard a plane circling. Looking to where the sound was coming from she recognised the plane. Daddy had come to save her. She waved her arm over her head and saw the wings of the plane wag in confirmation that she had been seen. Then she heard another sound and soon a helicopter appeared over the treetops. It was in camouflage colours and had the red, white and blue roundels of the RAAF. It settled onto the ground some thirty metres away from her and the door opened in the side and a man in camouflage uniform and flying helmet jumped to the ground and ran to her. "Are you Micha Underwood?" An easy question to ascertain whether or not she was disoriented. "Yes, that's my Daddy up there." She pointed to Mitchell's plane still circling the site. "We know, he's really concerned. We are going to check you out quickly and then take you to our base. He'll be there waiting for you. You'll get to see lot's of planes, would you like that?" "Ooh yes. I love planes. When I grow up I'm going to be a pilot like my Daddy." "And I bet that you'll make a very good one, just like your Daddy." While this was happening he was checking her over. "Ouch! That hurts." The examination had arrived at her broken arm. "Hmm, seems to be broken. We'll put a splint on that until we can get you to hospital. There doesn't appear to be much more wrong with you." He walked with her to the chopper, and lifted her inside. Flight Emergency Ch. 02 Meanwhile a team had gone to the wrecked plane and ascertained that neither Melissa nor Roger had survived the crash. That the plane was virtually out of fuel accounted for it not catching fire on impact. With some effort the doors were wrenched open and the bodies retrieved, placed in body bags and laid on the floor at the rear of the chopper. Micha got to sit up front beside the pilot for the return to RAAF Richmond. Mitchell landed and taxied over to a hangar. There was a huge media contingent waiting for him, they certainly didn't mess about getting there, it required security clearances for all of their crew, reporters, cameramen, lighting and sound technicians and while some of the personnel would already have clearance from prior visits it was a feat of logistics regardless. He held up his hand to get some sort of order into the melee. "Do you mind, I'll be happy to talk to you, but not here, and not now. Firstly I have to meet a very important person." He looked towards the landing chopper. He left the media behind him as he walked towards the chopper, he could see Micha seated beside the pilot wearing a helmet that was way too big for her little head. As soon as it stopped, one of the crew lifted her from the chopper and carried her towards Mitchell. "Put me down." She was lowered to the tarmac. As soon as her feet touched the ground she ran to Mitchell and threw herself into his arms. "Daddy, I just knew that you would come and save me, I just knew it!" Her arms were around his neck and she was kissing him, tears streaming down her face. Cameras whirred, this would make a great story for the evening news bulletin. "You know I wouldn't let you get too hurt don't you." He had seen the splint and realised that she probably had a broken arm. "You mean this thing." She held the arm out for him to see. "That doesn't hurt a bit. Did you see me Daddy, I got to ride in the front of the helicopter, wasn't that great?" They were met with a barrage of questions. "I am just glad that Micha has survived largely unscathed. First things first, we have to take her to the Base Hospital for a thorough check up and have her arm set, then we are going home, and then we are going to our local Hospital where my wife and new son are. There will be a statement released to the media in due course, but my first priority is to my daughter. Thank you." Leaving an undiminished barrage of questions behind them, Micha and Mitchell followed the crewman to the Base Hospital where an amazed Medical Team declared that Micha need not be detained any longer, once her arm was set. As they left the hospital the Base Commander met them. "We have assessed your situation and this is what we propose. We will take you by helicopter to the hospital so that you can be with your wife. She is very worried about both of you. The Staff at the hospital has tried to reassure her but with little success. The interests of mother and child will be best served by a reunion as soon as possible. Don't worry about your plane, I'll have a couple of our chaps ferry it to your place. Good luck to both of you, all of you." "Thank you sir." Mitchell shook his hand. "Thank you mister." Micha stood on tip toes and gave him an unexpected hug. "You're a brave little girl." He hugged her in return. "When I grow up I want to be a pilot. I think I want to be in the Air Force." "We'd be delighted to have you." He saluted her in the best military fashion. Micha returned his salute. She turned and was a little girl once more skipping after Mitchell and grabbing his hand. The RAAF chopper landed on the helipad at the hospital and a medical team were waiting for them. "Julie and the baby are fine. The only real problem we have is that Julie has been too upset to be able to feed him. We're hoping that as soon as she sees you two she'll be able to relax. We've passed on the message that you're both fit and well but she needs to see you." Julie heard footsteps hurrying down the corridor and she knew, she just knew, that it was Mitchell and Micha, she could feel their closeness, she could feel their love for her moving like a wave ahead of them. She rose from the chair in which she had spent the time that she wasn't pacing around the room, and opened the door. Mitchell looked the same as always, a smile splitting his face in two as he increased his pace and strode towards her, his arms already open to receive her. But Micha, her face covered in patches and her plastered arm in a sling, beat him to her, throwing herself at Julie, she sobbed her relief at being safe, safe in the arms of the woman she loved as a mother, the woman that her father loved as his wife. She was now safe, safer than she had ever felt. She was now a little girl sandwiched between Mitchell and Julie, a little girl bathed in a mixture of emotions, emotions that ranged from relief that everyone was safe and well, to love. That was the important one, love. The three of them stood around the crib in which their son and brother slept blissfully unaware of the dramas that had happened to those around him. Micha stood on a chair so that she could see into the crib. "He's really tiny, I don't think I could touch him, or I'd break him." "You'll be fine. Say hello to Julian Mitchell Underwood." "Julian, that's a nice name, oh, I get it, my name is like Daddy's so his is like Mummy's." Julie collapsed in tears in Mitchell's arms. "That's the first time she's called me 'Mummy'. We left them there, and Micha and I caught a cab home, the driver at first was reluctant to make the relatively long journey so near the end of his shift but two factors influenced his decision. The first being money, I offered to pay for the return plus a large tip and he wasn't going to pass that sort of money on to another driver and the second reason was he recognised us and his venal mind probably had it worked out that he could sell the story of his drive to the tabloid media. Micha and I sat in the back seat of the car, me deep in thought of the events of the last couple of hours, Micha, exhausted and brave little Micha, fast asleep with her head on my lap. As the cab pulled into my driveway the outside light came on and a whole bunch of people from the police to the media to Pete and Jan emerged to greet us. It was panning out to be a long night. Jan picked Micha up and carried her inside, all the time being sleepily regaled about how she had ridden in the front of a helicopter, to her relief at seeing me circling the paddock where the plane crashed. I issued a short statement to the press that seemed to appease them and they left. Soon there were just the two of us and Pete and Jan. There was a meal waiting for us and coffee for me, and a stiff Scotch, one of Pete's single malts, although a cheap generic would have sufficed in my mood, I was numb to all feeling at this moment. I wanted Micha to stay home from school but she would have none of it. She was a hero and was going to milk it for all its worth. The reception committee that was waiting for us when we arrived at school had to be seen to be believed, Micha was immediately surrounded by her fellow students and in no time the marker pen had been put to work by students signing her cast. "You will keep an eye on her, won't you?" I saw the Teacher's expression drop and I realised that she thought that she was somehow to blame for the abduction. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to infer that you were to blame. What I am concerned about is that she has been through an awful lot, and while I know kids have a resilience that we adults can only dream of, she may be hit with delayed shock." "Don't worry about a thing Mister Underwood, we'll keep a close watch." For the first time in months I found myself rattling about in an empty house. I did a load of washing and cleared up the dishes. I took a stroll around the farm to see if everything was okay, and was relieved to find my plane parked in the hangar. I walked over to it and gave it an affectionate pat on the engine cowling before checking the fuel and oil levels. I pushed her outside and hosed her down before pushing her, clean and shiny, back into her hangar. Pete came over after lunch and we discussed farm business and, on hearing that Julie and Julian would be out of hospital the next day, extended an invitation for Micha and I to have dinner with him and his family. About mid afternoon I received a phone call from one of the tabloid gossip magazines offering me an obscene amount of money for the story of Micha's heroic escape from the plane wreck. I told them that I would have to discuss it with my wife, and if she agreed I would only do it on the basis that any monies would go to charity. I could almost hear the false emotions on the other end of the line. I have to admit that I have little time for this sensationalistic crap. To my surprise they agreed to my terms. Over dinner I had to retell the events of the previous day. I choked when telling of seeing the wreckage of the plane and no sign of life, and then my relief at seeing Micha scrambling out of the wreck and staggering away from it, as well as my frustration at not being able to land and rescue her myself. "But Daddy, you did rescue me. If you hadn't followed them I wouldn't have been found. I heard the Air Force men talking about how you were on the radio to them and how you stayed with me until they arrived. You are my hero Daddy." "I think that everyone involved deserves credit, the police were very efficient and the RAAF guys were something else again. I couldn't have wanted better people helping out. My only regret is that Melissa was killed." "How can you say that, knowing what she did to Micha?" "In a way I felt sorry for her, she had become mentally unhinged and I don't believe that she was responsible for her actions." "What about the pilot of the plane?" "That's a different story, I have little sympathy for him, he took advantage of her when she was a Fight Attendant, and he went along with her crazy scheme instead of seeking help for her. I know it sounds harsh but he, more than her, deserved everything coming to him. He should have read the signs on the ground and either found somewhere else to land, or made a belly landing, the grass was wet and the plane would have skidded. He made two major errors of judgment yesterday, and paid dearly for both." The next day I dropped Micha off at school and drove back home and changed the Morgan for the Range Rover, making sure that the baby capsule was firmly fixed on the back seat, and headed for the hospital. When I pulled into the forecourt I was met again by the media. "I am here to pick up my wife and son, this is a personal and emotional time for the both of us, so I would appreciate some respect for our privacy." A microphone was shoved in my face and this reporter rudely asked me to comment on the rumour that we were planning to profit from the events of the last couple of days by selling our story to a women's magazine. My response was a little short of civil, "I can categorically deny that rumour. I have been approached by one magazine and have spelt out that I would only do it if Julie agreed and then only if the money that they were offering was paid to charity. Now, I would ask that you leave us in peace. I will however allow photographs to be taken of us as we leave on the understanding that they be taken from a sufficient distance that the baby will not be disturbed." Julie was ready to leave as I walked into her room. There were flowers everywhere and she had a thick wad of cards that she said that she would reply to, she was going to be busy. I gave her a hug and kissed her passionately, holding her to me. "I missed you so much. I can't wait to get both of you home so that our lives can return to normal." "I'm with you there, the staff here has been great, really great, but I think that they're looking forward to some peace as well. It's been non-stop here, a magazine has been hounding me for our story, they're offering obscene amounts of money. I have told them that I would talk it over with you and give them a decision in a couple of days. I get the feeling that the story is ready to go to press already." "It's probably the same one that has contacted me and I told them the same thing. If it is them I think that they have overstepped the bounds of harassment. Speaking of the media, there's a whole bunch of them waiting outside, I've told them that they can take pictures as long as they don't get too close. They'll probably want one of you holding young Julian here, so I'll carry the gear and you can carry him." A nurse came in to see if we were ready to leave. "What do you want done with all of these flowers?" "I think that it would be a good idea to spread them around the wards, in the nursing stations and places like that, it might help to brighten the place up a bit." Julie replied. "Great, I'll see to it. Now do you need a hand with anything?" I could see her big opportunity to bask in the media spotlight. I wasn't about to prevent that, so I gave her the bag with all of the cards to carry. The media were mostly well behaved and we had no problem getting clear and it was with a sigh of relief that we were on the open road heading for home. We were half expecting another media scrum when we drove up our driveway, but there was none, just Pete and Jan. "A couple of Journos rocked up a little while ago so I told them that they should leave you in peace." "Thanks, I've just about had enough of this, if this is the price of fame you can stick it." We sat around in the living room discussing the recent events in our lives, Pete and Jan stayed for lunch, Jan getting quite clucky, especially when Julian was suckling strongly at Julie's breast. What could be more peaceful than sharing quiet times with friends. The quiet didn't last long though. With Julian in his baby capsule, Julie and I headed off to pick Micha up from school. Again the media. Flash guns were flashing as Micha ran to us as the car stopped, "Mummy, Daddy." She was gathered up between us and carried to the car and we let her look at Julian, asleep in his capsule, oblivious to the world around him, the world that was pressing in closer and closer, all striving for that one photo that would make them famous. This time they wanted photos of the four of us. Micha was posed, seated on a bench in the playground nursing her baby brother. Then there was a request for a group shot, then one with Micha's school friends. It was about then that I called a halt. "Look, we have been very patient with you," I was trying to remain calm, a difficult feat given my feelings toward their invasion of our privacy. "Now I think that it is time that you respect our wishes and allow us to return to normal. Is there a representative here from (I named the glossy magazine)?" There was an affirmative answer. "I have a message for your Managing Editor, and it is this, I do not respect the way that she conducts business, I told her that I would discuss her offer with Julie and that should have been the end of it, but no, she had to put pressure on Julie at a time and place where she was already under pressure trying to establish a feeding regime while dealing with the external dramas that we were going through. Would you be so kind as to tell her that we want no part of her offer, end of story." I knew that the other media would jump on that story. I placed Julian back into his capsule and we all climbed into the car and drove home. Closure came from two directions. The Coronial enquiry found that the plane crash was caused by pilot error, Roger didn't heed the obvious warning signs and attempted an unsafe landing, possibly exacerbated by a lack of sufficient fuel that would have enabled him to seek an alternative landing site. The second event held major ramifications for us as a family. I received a notice of hearing from the Family Court and was surprised to find Melissa's parents there. While I was friendly enough with them before and during my marriage to Melissa, I had not spoken to them since it all went pear shaped. Melissa's father, George, came over to me while we waited for our matter to be called. "Don't worry Mitchell, this is just a formality." This made me more worried. We entered the courtroom, Julie, Julian and I on one side, George and Emily on the other. The Judge entered and we sat down. He looked at both sides and cleared his throat. "I have here a notice of motion that seems a little unusual, I wonder if someone would care to explain what this is all about." George rose. "Your Honour, Michelle, Micha Underwood is our grand-daughter and we love her dearly and would love to be able to apply for custody." I was just about to say something but Julie put her hand on my arm. "Since our daughter's death we would seem to be her only biological relatives and that would give us a greater claim to her than anyone else. However, we have thought of her well being and have decided that this would be better served if she were to remain in the sole custody of the man that she has, through her entire short life, regarded as her father, her true father. We have looked at the traumas that Mitchell and his family have had to cope with because of our daughter, and the way that they have managed this, and have decided that Micha is their daughter in every sense." "Why did you see fit to bring this to this court, surely this is a matter between both parties?" "We wanted to make this official. We wanted Mitchell to know that we would never seek custody. Once we have achieved that, we wanted to publicly acknowledge our debt of gratitude to this man, Mitchell Underwood and his lovely wife Julie, they have come through this whole episode with a dignity that I could only dream of, and we, Emily and I, know that our grand-daughter is in the best possible hands. Thank you, that's all that I wanted to say." "George, I don't want you to miss out on seeing Micha grow up, I don't want you to walk away from her. You are welcome to visit her at any time, you will be invited to any and all milestones in her life. I will not deny you that. I will make this promise to you, Julie and I will raise Micha as our own." That all happened many years ago. Today I am a proud father. Today Julie, Julian and Rory, our second son, my parents, Julie's parents and Melissa's parents, are all in the public area watching as Micha fulfils her dreams. Today Micha Underwood graduates as a Pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force. Flight Emergency "I don't really like to spring this on you, but on our way to my place I have to stop and pick up my daughter from her mother's place. I think we should get the awkward things out of the way first, not that I think this will be a problem." "I look forward to meeting her, Michelle, isn't it?" "Yeah, but she prefers Micha to Michelle or Shelly." "How often do you have her?" "One weekend a month and school holidays if I can swing it." "How old is she now?" "She was 8 last month, going on 15." "I'd love to meet her, I think we'll be fine." "I see you've brought your latest slut with you! I don't suppose you stopped to think about how this looks to Micha, did you?" Melissa stared at Julie seated in the front of the car. I wasn't about to get into a slanging match with her in front of Micha or Julie, so I picked up Micha's bag and held out my hand to her. Micha almost pulled my up the path to the car. "Wow, Dad, how long have you had this?" "A couple of days. Do you like it?" "It's so cool. I can't wait to tell the girls at school that you've got a Morgan." Julie stepped out of the car and held her hand out to Micha, "Hi Micha, I'm Julie, I've been wanting to meet you." "Hi Julie," Micha gave her a hug, "You look nice." She slid into the tiny back seat and put on her seat belt. Julie and I got in and I drove away, away from the filthy look that Melissa was still sporting, it was made worse by the way that Julie and Micha seemed to hit it off straight away. "How's school?" This was my usual first question. "Great! I get to play hockey next term." "Oh dear, looks as if I'll have to invest in shin pads, we can't have you getting bashed about." "You should talk, Mum said that you used to play Rugby Union, and there's not a lot that's rougher than that." "Don't believe everything that you hear, I never suffered any major injuries, just the odd broken leg and my nose, well that's had more surgical attention than Michael Jackson's." "Michael who?" "You're too young to have heard of him, but he's had heaps of work done on his face." "What school do you go to Micha?" "St Cat's" "She means St Catherine's. He mother decided that she should go to the best school that I could afford, not that I mind, it is a good school." We chatted about all sorts of mundane things during the two hour drive to my hobby farm just outside Moss Vale in the Southern Highlands just south of Sydney. I would never have bought this place if I couldn't have come to an arrangement with my neighbour who grazed some of his beef cattle on my land in exchange for not having to pay for the agistment and getting a small wage to look after the place. We both bought beef calves and fattened them for market. I pulled up in front of the house and we got out. Micha was excited, grabbing Julie's hand, "Come on Julie I'll show you around and you can meet Fred." "Fred? Who's Fred?" "My horse, Daddy bought him for me for my birthday." I unpacked the bags and shoved them through the front door and followed Micha and Julie, who were happily chatting as if they were old and good friends, around to the rear of the house to where Fred, resplendent in his dark blue coat that set off his grey fur, grazed nonchalantly on the green grass. What an idyllic scene, my daughter and the woman that I knew for certain that I love, standing there being nuzzled by the horse. A tractor came around from behind the hay shed, Pete waved as he approached. "Hi Mitch, good to see you." He stopped the tractor and jumped down, he waved to Micha, "Hi Micha, when are you going to ride him?" "When Daddy let's me." We walked over to them, "Pete this is Julie, Pete looks after the place for me when I'm not around." Pete held out his hand. "I'm glad I caught you, I'm taking my stock to market next week and I think yours are ready to go as well. I've arranged delivery of fifty or so AIS (Australian Illawarra Shorthorn) calves, how many do you want?" "Do you want to go halves?" "Sure. I'll bring the invoice over this afternoon and you can pay me then." "Why don't you bring Jan over tonight and we'll have dinner together?" "You sure?" He looked at Julie as if to question whether this would be too much for her. "We're sure." Julie answered. "Shall we say 7:00 for dinner at 7:30?" "See you then." Pete jumped onto the tractor and roared off, tractors aren't all that quiet, bouncing down the gravel track between the two farms. We all went inside and Micha grabbed her bag and ran off down the hallway to her room as if she didn't want to waste one moment of this weekend. "She's really nice, I like her." Julie said as she came into my arms for a kiss, "Do you think that I'll make a good step-mother?" I haven't even asked Julie to marry me, yet, I wanted to get this weekend over with to see whether the two got on well together before I even thought about the next step, but here was Julie, in her own way telling me that everything was going to be fine between the two of them. I took Julie down to the spare bedroom, we didn't want to rush letting Micha know that we were already lovers, and while she unpacked I went into the kitchen to make coffee for Julie and I and a glass of fresh from the cow milk that Pete had left in the fridge for me. "She's really, really nice Dad. I love her already." Micha gave me the biggest hug. "And you two are so right for each other, better than Mum and 'Uncle' Jim." "Whatever happened to 'Uncle' Rod?" "He and Mum had this huge fight and He dumped her. They were screaming at each other and calling each other nasty names. I'm glad he's gone, I never liked him. 'Uncle' Jim's not much better." We had lunch and toured the property, Julie and Micha were getting on much better than I had expected, they chatted non-stop as we walked through the paddocks, patted the cattle and I set traps in the dam to catch us a feed of crayfish for dinner tonight. After an hour I had more than enough for five people, so we went back to the house to get ready for dinner. Micha began to set the table as Julie and I prepared the entrees, salads and desserts, the crayfish for the main course would be kept until the last minute. They sat in a tub of icy water that effectively put them to sleep so that when they were plunged into the boiling water in the pot they would not suffer. We were dressed in our best casual clothes when we heard Pete's car pull up out front. Micha ran and opened the door for them and I heard her urging them inside, "Jan, come and meet Julie, she's Daddy's new friend and she's really nice." They all came into the kitchen as Julie and I were setting out the platter of antipasto and other bits and pieces for the entrée. "Hi again." Julie said to Pete. "Jan this is Julie." Pete said by way of introduction. Julie held out her hand but Jan grasped it and pulled Julie to her and kissed her on the cheek. "I've heard a lot about you already, about how good looking you are and how you and Micha seem to be hitting it off. I'm pleased to meet you, you don't know how long we've waited for someone like you to come along. All the local girls have given up trying to snare him." The meal went better than I had hoped and during the evening Jan and Pete both gave their seal of approval and Julie had expressed how much she enjoyed their company. I was feeling more and more positive about the way things were progressing. Pete and Jan left around midnight after inviting us over for lunch the next day and Micha had reluctantly gone to bed at 10:30, but only after we promised her that we would allow her to have her first tentative ride on Fred in the morning. Julie and I were alone and happy, I was happier than I have felt for a long, long, time. "I have to thank you for being so perfect tonight." I said as I kissed her, again. "I can't help but be amazed that I've been accepted so well by Micha, and Jan and Pete. I feel almost as if I belong here with you." "And that leads me very nicely into what I have to say next." Her arms were around my neck and her lips were millimetres from mine. "And what might that be?" "Will you marry me?" "Yes, oh yes." The minute gap between our lips closed as she kissed me. "There are so many things that we'll have to sort out but, yes I will marry you as soon as humanly possible." "Before you get too carried away there are a couple of things we should discuss. Firstly, as soon as we are married I plan to apply for custody of Micha. I don't think that the environment that she is living in with Melissa is right for her. But there is a problem and that is I am not her biological father and I know that Melissa will use that to prevent me gaining custody. Micha is the result of one of Melissa's many affairs, she was a Flight Attendant like you but she had no qualms about screwing around with pilots. That's one of the reasons that I don't, or didn't." "The other thing is that I am going to hand in my resignation. I have enough money now to survive at least three straight years of drought, so I want to live here full time and run the property myself using Pete as a consultant and to help me with things like tha actual buying and selling of cattle. Now, I know that it is early into our relationship and I shouldn't expect you to." Her finger was pressed against my lips, silencing me. "I want to live with you so badly that I'd move to Outer Mongolia if that was where you wanted to live." Another kiss, this time with more passion. Throwing caution to the winds, we went to bed, in my bed. Julie was now a part of my world, she shared equal billing with Micha. We made love, oh did we make love. It was as if years of abstinence had been building up and the safety valve that had kept it in check had blown and all of our pent up passions, emotions and love had burst forth in an orgy of passionate love making. The love we had made in the hotel last night, (was it only last night?) was the teaser, it brought us together, but it wasn't until the commitment had been made that we felt free to lose control of ourselves with each other. Sometime between exhilaration and exhaustion I thought that I heard our door open but I took no notice of it until the morning. Julie and I were just surfacing from our deep sleep when there was a soft knock on the door and it swung open to admit Micha, "Are you guys awake?" "Mmmm, wah?" that was as close to an intelligent response as you would get for a while. "I've brought you breakfast in bed." She turned the light on and came in with a tray on which she had set out toast and scrambled eggs and coffee, merciful coffee. "There's more coffee if you need it." Julie held the sheet over her breasts and sat up. "This is nice, could anything be more perfect. Thank you Honey, but you shouldn't have." "I figured that you would be tired this morning, so I thought I'd make you breakfast so you didn't have to get up early. I know that the two of you were in here because I had to go to the toilet at around two this morning and I heard you, you were making love, weren't you?" "How do you know about this?" "Puhlease, when you have a mother like mine, you learn things real quick. You don't honestly think that when one of my pretend 'Uncles' stays over that Mum and he sleep in different beds do you?" She sat on the edge of the bed. "I think that you should let us have breakfast in peace." "Are you afraid that I'll see Julie's breasts if she lets go of the sheet? Don't worry Dad, I've seen Mums plenty of times, she wanders around the house with them hanging out all the time, by the way Julie, yours are better than Mum's, and if Julie is going to be my new Mum, then what is wrong with me seeing them? I do hope that Julie is going to be my new Mum." She had a strange look on her face as if she wanted an answer yesterday. "Dad?" "Yes we are getting married." Julie beat me to it by a gnat's appendage. "Great! Can I be your bridesmaid?" "Wouldn't you rather be a flower girl?" "Nah. If I'm a bridesmaid I get to stay right through the reception, but if I'm a flower girl you can ship me off home at some beastly early hour, now would that be fair?" "Go young lady, and leave us to enjoy this in peace." "Spoilsports." She huffed out of the room. We breakfasted, showered and dressed for lunch. What I thought was going to be a quiet lunch with just Pete and Jan and their two almost adult kids, turned into a full blown district event. There must have been at least thirty people there for the barbeque all, it seemed, wanting to meet Julie. Pete had cooked up some prime beef and lamb and there was plenty of beer to wash it down with. Unfortunately, as I had to drive home and I had an early flight in the morning, I was forced to abstain. "This has been the best weekend ever!" Micha was still on something of a high after everything that had happened. We pulled up out front of Melissa's place but there was no sign of her, which wasn't unusual, she didn't always come out when I dropped Micha off. "See you next time Honey." I kissed her and handed her bag to her. "See you Julie, love you." She kissed Julie and walked down the path to the front door. She had a key so she let herself in. We had only gone a hundred metres down the road when my mobile phone rang. Julie answered it, it was Micha. "Dad, Julie, come back! You've got to come back! Hurry! Please hurry." Angry horns blared at me as I made a sliding U turn and raced back down the road. I slid to a stop outside Melissa's house to see Micha rushing out. We met half way down the path. "Oh Daddy, it's awful, Mummy's been beaten up. I dialled '000' and the police and ambulance are on their way." She was sobbing uncontrollably. Julie stooped down and took her in her arms to comfort her and Micha buried her head in Julie's chest. "You did the right thing Honey." Melissa lay on her bed, her face was a mess and she was barely conscious. She was trying to sat something to me through her puffed up lips but only an indecipherable mumble emerged. The ambulance arrived and the paramedics began work checking her out and preparing her for the trip to the hospital. A police car pulled up out front and two officers came in. The older male was a sergeant while the younger female was a constable. I told them briefly as much as I knew, that we had just dropped Micha home after an access visit and it was she who found her mother, called us along with the police and ambulance. The constable sat down on the sofa with Micha beside her and began to coax answers to questions from her. Micha told her that her mother was expecting a visit from 'Uncle' Jim, but that she didn't think he would have been to blame, "He's a wimp, Mum only has to look sideways at him and he goes to pieces. I think it might be 'Uncle' Rod, who has a history of beating her." She gave them as many details as she could. "What happens now?" "Is there someone who can look after her?" "I'm her father, she can stay with me." "Very well, we'll keep you informed." The police left followed by the ambulance, leaving the three of us. "Would you like to see where I live?" Julie asked Micha. "You can both stay with me tonight." "We don't want to inconvenience you in any way." "Will you be quiet and help Micha to find some clean clothes, I think that, given what has just happened, she can stay home from school, at least for tomorrow." "That's really cool, thank you Julie." Micha gave her a hug and ran down to her room to emerge a minute or two later with clean clothes. We picked up some fish and chips on the way to Julie's, we figured that one pig out meal wouldn't hurt us. Over dinner Micha told us of some of the things that her mother had been involved in. A new 'Uncle' on a regular basis, all of them treating her badly, heavy drinking and the occasional hit of coke. "Micha, how would you like to live permanently with Julie and I?" "Do you really mean it? You guys are going to get married?" "Yes, we decided last night that it was what both of us wanted, and we want what is best for you." I left the two women in my life chattering away in the spare bedroom where Micha would spend the night while I rang Operations to request compassionate leave. When I explained the situation they granted it immediately. Julie rang them later and requested leave of a different type, she told them that she was getting married and wanted to spend time with me. Operations weren't going to grant her application so she dropped the bombshell. "I have leave owing to me, four weeks, I wish to take that effectively immediately and tomorrow my resignation will be with Human Resources, I quit." The next day was hectic, both Julie and I handed in our resignations and I went to the Family Court and applied for custody of Micha. I gained a temporary custody order pending an investigation into the full circumstances. Julie and I applied for a Marriage Licence but would have to wait a couple of days before we could marry. Melissa was released from hospital and when she heard that I had applied for custody she went absolutely ballistic. She immediately contacted the Family Court to arrange a hearing into the custody. We had to endure two weeks of abusive phone calls before the hearing. The judge looked at Melissa and then at Julie and I. "Mister Underwood, according to your former wife, you are an airline pilot, is this correct?" "No, your Honour, I was a pilot until recently, I have resigned." "And what do you intend to do? How will you be able to support Micha?" "I have a property in the Southern Highlands and I will be working that." "And your relationship with Julie Paterson," she looked at Julie, "What is the situation there?" "You mean, what is my relationship with Julie Underwood, we are husband and wife." Melissa was just about to blow her top. "And she is a flight attendant, I am led to believe." "No, your Honour, Julie has resigned also, we intend to start a family as soon as possible, we wish to establish a stable and secure family environment in which to raise Micha." "You bastard! You think that you can get away with this, well buddy, I've got news for you! You are not Micha's biological father! How do like that, she's not yours!" "I am aware of that, but all of her life I have accepted her, treated her as my own, the accident of her parentage is irrelevant as far as I am concerned. She is my daughter, end of story." The Judge looked at the three of us. "I need a second opinion here, Micha would you come up here with me for a minute?" Micha walked around the bench and stood next to the Judge. "Micha, which of your parents would you like to live with?" There was no hesitation, "Daddy and Julie, I want to live with Daddy and Julie." "Thank you Micha. That will be all." Micha walked back to where she was sitting next to a Welfare Officer, giving Julie and I a thumbs up as she passed us. "I am going to make my judgement in this matter. I grant full custody of Micha Underwood to Mitchell Underwood, the person listed on her Birth Certificate as her father. In the matter of access, her mother, Melissa Underwood will have access for one weekend per month subject to a review in six months. If her domestic situation has improved I will grant further access. That will be all." Melissa screamed at us as she stormed out of the courtroom, "You haven't heard the end of this! I'll get you, you bastard!" "Good Luck." It was the Judge. "I know that I've made the right decision, but while she is like this anything could happen. I would advise that you take out an AVO just to be sure." Micha eventually went to sleep in her new room, in her new bed. It was all a little overwhelming for her, and not much better for Julie and I. We didn't get to bed until after midnight. "Come here my beautiful husband." Flight Emergency I obeyed her immediately holding her to me, kissing her mouth, her neck, her breasts, her stomach, the thin bush of pubic hair and finally her pussy. "Hey, before you get too carried away, I want to talk to you." She sounded so serious so I listened. "It's early days so I can't be sure but, I was due to have a period last week and, usually I'm as regular as clockwork. With a little bit of luck I could be pregnant. But, just to be on the safe side I think that you should fuck me." "Yes Ma'am anything you say Ma'am." My cock was inside her while I was still speaking. Thank God for flight emergencies and stopovers.